Nutrition for MMA Fighters Q&A

zdrax said:
With regard to fish oil:
During an OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test - drinking a big 75g whack of liquid sugar and measuring the subjects for 2 hours afterward), the fish oil group burned 27g of fat vs. 20g in the placebo group. The fish oil group also burned 28g or carbs while storing 36g and the placebo group burned 51g of carbs while storing only 14g..

So the fish oil group burned an additional 7 grams of fat. But you didn't mention the additional amount of fat they took in as fish oil. There is a good chance that they have more fat overall than the placebo group with that additional comsumption.

Am I missing something on the carb portion? From what I read the placebo group is burning more carbs and storing far less from what I read. Meaning they are burning their carbs as energy instead of storing them as fat as the fish oil group is.

zdrax said:
insulin responses to OGTT were 50% lower in the fish oil group.

This part I'm not completely familiar with but isn't an insulin spike actually desirable in order to increase the body's uptake of post workout nutrients?

zdrax said:
With regard to milk, many individuals have lactose intolerance problems. The digestive issues associated with its consumption aren't worth the risk.

This assumes that the majority of the population suffers from lactose intolerance. There are people that suffer from ulcers, IBD, or gastric reflux. I don't assume that everyone suffers from those though and advise nutrition based on an assumption of disease.

Most people are not lactose intolerant and skim milk will have no adverse effect on them. What are you quantifying as "large quantities"?

zdrax said:
That being said, I consume ~ 12oz of milk a day. Note I said "large amounts." Some individuals think the best way to gain weight is by drinking gallons of milk. It's not.

The fact that some people are misguided in their choice of nutrients to gain weight doesn't mean that people should actually avoid milk though. This is tangential logic. Again "large quantities" is not quantified.

zdrax said:
Lastly, I never said whole wheat bagels were a poor carbohydrate choice. I eat them frequently.

From post #1 of this thread:

zdrax said:
What not to eat:

Carbohydrates:

* Regular bread
* Added sugar
* Most cereals
* Soda
* Fruit juice
* Bagels
* Fruit bars
* Candy
 
Zdrax, I saw you quote Berardi. Do you have a copy of "Advanced Sport Nutrition"? I intend to buy that, I wanted to hear what you think.
 
With regard to fish oil, I'll gladly displace 10g of fat specifically for fish oil consumption. The enormous amount of literature (psssh, check Men's Health, they have so many articles on fish oil supplementation it makes my head spin) and research done examining the benefits of fish oil would make me a fool not to supplement.

With regard to whole wheat bagels, look at the packaging. Now look closer. See the high fructose corn syrup? See the sugar and the refined flour? That's right. It's VERY difficult to find true whole wheat bagels. I know of one company in Washington State (where I live) that makes true whole wheat bagels on par with the mixed grain breads you can find. That being said, you want to eat a bagel PWO, fine by me. But it should not be a dietary staple of your carbohydrate intake. However, making it a staple of your PWO feeding is not a bad idea.

With regard to milk:

"Lactose intolerance affects as many as 75 percent of the worlds population. (1) In the United States, where 30 to 50 million of the American people are lactose intolerant, approximately 80 percent of the Asian American population, 79 percent of the Native American population, 75 percent of the African American population, 51 percent of the Hispanic American population, and 21 percent of the Caucasian American population are affected."

The problem here is, it's very difficult to diagnose lactose intolerance. Some individuals handle it better than others. That being said, I think having a person rely on fluid calories is not the way to build good nutritional habits. Secondly, as I stated, diagnosis is very difficult as symptoms can vary. Lastly, I never said DON'T drink milk. But I do not think people should be relying on it as a panacea akin to the dairy council's advertising campaign. That's a lot of insulin spiking caloric intake that does little to help performance or body composition. But, while not acting as a dietary staple, having a glass as part of your PWO feeding would make sense.

When I say post workout (PWO), I mean intense free-weight training that focuses on compound lifts (olympic lifts such as the clean, snatch, bench press, deadlift, squat etc.) or extensive anaerobic activity that is more than a half hour in length. Jogging on the treadmill for 30min is not applicable in this case.

If you'd like to continue this discussion, let's take it to private messaging, rather than cluttering up the thread.
 
zdrax said:
Honestly, I would go out and buy "Grappler's Nutrition" - www.grapplersnutrition.com. Its his philosophies (which have largely influenced mine) tailored to the MMA practitioner.

Ah, I got mixed up. I was thinking of John Benardot.

I did go check out Berardi's site, and he does include a book on his site I've also been considering purchasing: "Nutrient Timing" by Jonh Ivy and Robert Portman.

Even though his background is in athletics, he seems to have commercial ambitions. He reverently speak of Charles Poloquin and his main book is "Scrawny to Brawny."

But yeah, he definitely looks like a cutting edge mind.
 
What I like about him is his emphasis on the practicality and the constant evaluation of progress. He taught me a lot about consistency and getting away from mood or emotional eating.
 
TFNG here!! Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but searched forever and couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. Plus everyone knows white belts shouldn't start threads!!!

Here's the deal. I am 24 yrs old, 5'9", and 155 lbs. I have just recently been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes (controllable with diet and exercise). I have since switched up my diet from junk food and booze, to much more healthy foods (lean meats, veggies, and lower/healthier carbs) and simply drinking water with limited milk/juice intake (no sodas or booze). I have also started weight training and MMA training.
My problem is when I am training my glucose levels drop drastically even though I eat what I think should be plenty of food beforehand. I'm assuming I should really up my carb intake before training, but am unsure as to what kind of foods would be a good idea. I'll start with the foods on pg.1 of this thread and see how it goes. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
Madmick said:
Zdrax, I saw you quote Berardi. Do you have a copy of "Advanced Sport Nutrition"? I intend to buy that, I wanted to hear what you think.

I have Advanced Nutrition for the Serious Athlete. That book is alright. I thought about getting Advanced Sport Nutrition, as well.
 
KOU In3 said:
Avoid large amounts of soy? Soy is a perfectly viable protein source with virtually no drawbacks.
You lost me.

Anywho, this is a good information thread. Tons of people would lose weight if they cut out all the soda and junk food alone though. Damn fat Americans weighing down the average... PUN!
 
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